Bronson Magnan Grand Prix Lincoln Champion!

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Fighting his way through one of the most diverse formats ever, Magnan found an angle that no one else saw, reaching into the way back machine to resurrect CAL - Confidant Aggro Loam - a deck that used Life from the Loam to superpower Seismic Assault, Flame Jab, and Raven's Crime. His epic game three against Andrew Cuneo will certainly go down as one for the ages as both players traded blows in a match that was not for the faint of heart.

The weekend will also be remembered as the first Modern Grand Prix, the first Grand Prix held in Lincoln, Nebraska, and anything but the first Grand Prix Top 8 for Luis Scott-Vargas. Team ChannelFireball didn't quite dominate this event like they had recently, but Scott-Vargas held the torch all the way into the Top 4.

But it was Magnan's Life from the Loam's that are heralding a shift in the format in the midst of a PTQ season, showing just how unexplored and wide open Modern can be.

Despite some early disruption from Rutledge, Cuneo assembled his combo of Viscera Seer, Melira and Kitchen Finks, but simply sat on them for fear of removal in response. By waiting while ahead on board, he could combo off at instant speed any time he wanted.

With no removal in sight and getting beat down by Linvala, Rutledge opted to move on to game 2.

Cuneo 1 – Rutledge 0

Game 2

Rutledge bolted the Birds right off the bat, as all good boys and girls are trained to do, and a Bloodbraid Elf followed up to put Cuneo under immediate pressure. Cuneo tried to stem the bleeding with a Phyrexian Metamorph on the Bloodbraid Elf, but Ancient Grudge quickly moved the roadblock out of the way.

He played a Tarmogoyf to block while leaving up Bolt mana to try and scrape his way back into the game. A Bolt and a block let Rutledge stay at 2 life, but he was a green mana short of casting Kitchen Finks. Seeing the writing on the wall, he scooped up his cards.

Cuneo 2 – Rutledge 1

Quarterfinal - Mary Jacobson vs. Samuel Friedman

by Blake Rasmussen

Mary Jacobson and Samuel Friedman had crashed their way to the Top 8 blazing similar paths.

Friedman started using removal spells to slow the beats, first an Ancient Grudge, then trading away an Inkmoth Nexus. But with City of Brass as his only colored mana source, he was getting pinged as legions of small robots kept crashing in.

Knowing she could no longer catch up, Jacobson scooped up her many artifacts and congratulated her opponent on his top 4.

Friedman 2 – Jacobson 0

Quarterfinal - Bronson Magnan vs. Samuel Karls

by Dane Young

The wide-open nature of the Modern format was on display this weekend, with the Top 8 boasting a crazy six distinct archetypes without any Storm or Twin combo decks. Two extremes were matched up here as Bronson Magnan's Aggro Loam deck took on Samuel Karls' Monoblue Faeries.

Tarmogoy and Mistbind Clique crashed, killing Liliana of the Veil and sending Bronson down to 9, but Samuel was missing the backup counterspells he needed to finish the job, quickly losing his board to a second Liliana of the Veil and Seismic Assault. Life from the Loam took over from there, making short work of Sam's life total in turning all of his extra lands into Shocks with Seismic Assault.

Samuel played his last card, Wurmcoil Engine, hoping it was good enough to swing things in his favor, but a pair of Ancient Grudges smashed all three parts of the big wurm, leaving Bronson with exactly enough mana to replay his Countryside Crusher. Mutavault was a poor answer, and Samuel took a huge hit after the giant ate some lands off the top off Bronson's deck, falling to 2 and had to watch as a second Countryside Crusher joined the team.

Semifinal - Luis Scott-Vargas vs. Andrew Cuneo

by Dane Young

Two titans squared off in the semifinals, with the Eldrazi-wielding Luis Scott-Vargas in his eighth Grand Prix Top 8. His opponent, old schooler Andrew Cuneo, had a fine Pro Tour resume of his own, and he knew his deck inside-out, promising to make this an exciting matchup between two of the more popular decks on the weekend.

Chaining Thirsts for Knowledge and Remands, Luis fought out of his double mulligan as he further developed his mana, soon ramping into Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre to blow up one of Andrew's two lands. One more draw step was all Andrew needed, conceding in the face of annihilation.

Semifinal - Samuel Friedman vs. Bronson Magnan

by Blake Rasmussen

Bronson Magnan may be thrilled to qualify for his first pro tour now that he's made the top four, but his Seismic Assault/Life from the Loam deck was a beast capable of taking down the crown. If anyone else had even looked at the archetype before today, we hadn't heard of them. But Magnan's performance here was certain to change that.

Samuel Friedman is a Austin-area player who is now qualified for his second Pro Tour, though he wasn't be to attend the event due to his obligations as a football coach and teacher. Now that he was qualified for Barcelona, though, he knew the timing would let him make the trip.

Friedman, ever the chatty one, worried aloud about how bad the matchup looked post board for him, virtually unwinnable, he mused. Magnan's sideboard packed cards like Darkblast and Ancient Grudge that could make life miserable for an Affinity player.

Game 1

Friedman, ready to get going, nearly jumped the gun while on the draw.

"I just got so excited, I haven lands and spells. I'm ready to go!"

Not ready enough, as he came out meekly for an Affinity deck, managing just a Steel Overseer on turn two.

He did indeed take that chance, and promptly lost it to a discarded land.

But when Dark Confidant revealed Liliana, Magnan was walking a tight rope trying to keep his head above water at three life, and when no more lands were forthcoming, Signal Pest with a Cranial Plating was more than enough to make Friedman's robots lethal.

Friedman 1 – Magnan 0

"I won a free entry to a win a box, I need to use it before they stop doing them," Friedman worried as the players shuffled up for the second game.

#Top8Problems, right?

Samuel Friedman

Game 2

Apparently Friedman won it last night knowing he would be back today but unsure of his late game fate. Somehow, I don't see many players feeling too bad for him.

On the draw once again, Friedman found another slower hand staring back at him, making no play till Arcbound Ravager on turn two, but lost it quickly to a Nature's Claim.

Magnan then backed up his removal with a Countryside Crusher on turn three, which became a 5/5 on his upkeep.

Friedman began working on some victory conditions of his own, hitting for two poison and killing the Baloth while Magnan was tapped out.

A second Baloth ballooned Magnan's life total, but Friedman was clearly leaning on a poison kill. In response to a Darkblast, Friedman used his Blinkmoth Nexus to pump the one that was targeted and put Magnan to five poison.

But on the next attack, Magnan dealt with both Inkmoths with a Nature's Claim and a Ghost Quarter, though he oddly threw away a Darkblast when both removal spells killed the poisonous lands without any help.

Friedman kept scratching and clawing his way back, killing Lavaclaw Reaches with Galvanic Blast and casting a second untouchable Etched Champion. But as far behind as he still was, he started daydreaming about what card he could draw to find a win.

But when he didn't have any answer to another turn of Flame Jabs, he extended his hand to Bronson.

"Do I have time to go throw up now?" Magnan asked before his trip to the finals of Grand Prix Lincoln.

Bronson Magnan defeats Samuel Friedman 2-1 to move on to the finals of Grand Prix Lincoln.

Final - Andrew Cuneo vs. Bronson Magnan

by Blake Rasmussen

Previously unknown Bronson Magnan certainly won't be so anymore. His CAL deck has reminded the world what a potent combination Life from the Loam and Seismic Assault can be, shaking up the Modern landscape and probably every PTQ in the coming weeks.

Standing in his way was longtime pro Andrew Cuneo piloting one of the better known decks coming into this event. He had proved his mastery over the Melira Pod archetype over the course of 15 rounds and two Top 8 matches.

Cuneo tried to get his Birthing Pod going with a Kitchen Finks, but in response to the life gain triggers, Magnan used Seismic Assault to off both halves of the Finks. He used the same trick the following turn for Obstinate Baloth, flashing enough lands to finish things off the following turn.

Cuneo 1 – Magnan 1

Game 3

"This is it now, this is the whole weekend," Magnan mused, setting up the necessary drama befitting a Grand Prix finals. "Good luck."

Magnan, excited to play the final game, offered a quick "keep," even though he was on the draw. Cuneo followed suit, if reluctantly.

"Oh, that was a good one," he said, pulling Bojuka Bog into his hand. Cuneo's graveyard was stacked at this point, and the Bog could turn off any Reveillark shenanigans that could have won the game on the spot...

...except Magnan took the risk and used three Flame Jabs to kill the Redcap dead. The play would actually remove Cuneo's main combo win condition if he could remove the Redcap the following turn with the Bog. Eternal Witness Podded into an Obstinate Baloth, a card that was conveniently out of triple Flame Jab reach. Had Cuneo found another avenue to victory?

Bojuka Bog did indeed exile Cuneo's graveyard, but Magnan had to put together enough damage to kill the Obstinate Baloth, or else his 12 life wouldn't stand up. Unfortunately, he didn't have enough red mana to do so for two turns, and was forced to fall to 8 life.

Instead of relying on doing one point at a time, Magnan began attacking with Lavaclaw Reaches. The first attack dropped Cuneo to 19, but a two drop into a Kitchen Finks put the brakes on things again. After another round of Flame Jabs, the Finks was gone, but Magnan made a Dark Confidant to maybe, finally, pull ahead after treading water for so long.

Or not, as he quickly placed Bob in front of an attacking Dryad Arbor.

Until Cuneo drew and cast Thrun, the Last Troll. The Hexproof regenerator drew an audible gasp from the crowd, immediately shutting down all of Magnan's tricks.

"That would have been better had I Podded for it a million turns ago," Cuneo said.

Magnan, down at 8 life from earlier attacks, was suddenly in trouble. An attack from the legendary Troll put him to four while Cuneo was still safely at 15 life.

Could Magnan draw out of it?

The gasp from the crowd gave it away, and Cuneo already had Thrun in his graveyard as Magnan was tapping mana for Liliana of the Veil.

"I just won a Grand Prix!"

Bronson Magnan is the Grand Prix Lincoln champion!

Top 5 Cards of Grand Prix Lincoln 2012

by Dane Young

5 - Dark Confidant

Bob Maher's invitational card Dark Confidant has been gold in every format since its printing in Ravnica, providing a steady stream of card advantage to players who are after greatness, at any cost. With Modern re-opening the vault for older cards, Dark Confidant was an easy go-to despite a fragile body and no evasion, demanding an answer lest the opponent get run over by an avalanche of card advantage. The dangerous little guy was all over the top tables throughout the tournament, with twelve copies breaking through to the Top 8.

4 - Life from the Loam

This innocent-looking sorcery has been the centerpiece for many powerful decks over multiple formats, first fueling Psychatog before moving onto Seismic Assault and Solitary Confinement. It got fully exploited when combined with Onslaught's cycling lands, providing multiple dredges every turn to churn through the deck. Bronson Magnan proved that Life from the Loam was good enough even without cycling lands, using the powerful sorcery to keep his retrace spells going before eventually killing opponents with Seismic Assault on his way to the Grand Prix Lincoln championship.

3 - Cranial Plating

With "Affinity" decks morphing into a super-explosive pseudo-combo decks, Cranial Plating has taken the place of Arcbound Ravager as the robotic "Fairy Godmother" that Pierre Canali won Pro Tour Columbus with in 2004. The equipment has become so crucial to the archetype's effectiveness that players have stretched their mana to incorporate Steelshaper's Gift—a card that struggled to find a spot in any constructed format until relatively recently—in order to find it.

2 - Emrakul, the Aeons Torn

Affectionately known as the "Flying Spaghetti Monster" for its impressive collection of tentacles, Emrakul, the Aeons Torn has seen play in formats everywhere, from Standard Eldrazi Green, to Legacy Show and Tell, to Modern Tron decks. The alien's prohibitive casting cost almost exclusively requires him to be cheated into play, and Tron players have been doing that with Through the Breach, borrowing the line from Pro Tour Philadelphia decks, but with the backup ability to realistically hardcast the Eldrazi like Luis Scott-Vargas did all the way to a semifinals appearance.